April 2016

Cage Pushed Out Until May :(

I finally selected a trailer. It's an 8.5 x 18 enclosed. I searched all winter on Craigslist for a 16 or 18 foot trailer. I had a couple of opportunities, but people were a bit proud of their well used trailers wanting to get like 80% of the new retail price on 5 & 6 year old trailers. I decided to go with a new one since I'm planning to keep it a while.  I went to the dealer to pick one up and they sold the last one off the lot the previous week. I've got one on order, but with a 3 to 6 week lead time I had to push my cage build date out 3 more weeks.  My cage builder is swamped, so he was glad to have the extra breathing room to catch up.  I did go down to his shop and meet with him armed with photos of some different cages from the web along with extensive photos of a cage he did for a DP car a few years back. I think we're on the same page and ready to go.

Dinking Around

I don't have a lot to do at the moment.  I did get my combo lights converted to cold air intake status.  Fortunately the car came with the aftermarket intake style combo lights when I bought it.  I used aluminum mesh from a couple of gutter downspout leaf protectors and applied it with industrial strength hot glue......I love that stuff.  Kinda ugly on the back, but who's ever going to see it.

I hit them some red spray paint followed by red Plastidip.  Not sure how I feel about the red in hindsight, well have to see the car in full race trim.

I was going to bolt my OE headlight doors to the hood to cover the openings, but I had a change of heart. I fabricated covers for the headlights from 3/16 ABS and put a heat bend on the outside corners to bring them down flush.  They're bolted on with stainless 10-24 machine screws. I had to put the nose back on as well to get them properly fitted.  They're just slightly recessed.  I'm happy with them. They're just slightly lighter with the hardware than the steel ones and they look super aggressive.

We Have Aero!

I'm still hanging around waiting on cage install time.  I decided to go after the spoiler work.  I went with 3/16 Lexan which was readily available at my local Tapp Plastics.  You need at least a 14" tall piece to start due to the curve of the NA trunk. Final height will be 9.75". Angle will be 75 degrees in the middle and damn near 90 degrees at the edges.  I've been assured by a nationally competitive driver that steeper is better which makes sense at autocross speeds. This is a 3D job.  Honestly, from previous project experiences, mocking it up is pretty much useless.
I started out by making brackets.  I cut 1" wide aluminum flat bar to length so I had 5" above the bend point.  I taped the two center pieced side by side and threw them on the bender together so they have the exact same bend angle.  After to or three times through the bender I had the perfect angle.  I repeated the process for the edge brackets.  I drilled and installed the center brackets with Nutserts, The edge brackets are connected with bolts, nuts, and the largest backing washers I could fit due to their single bolt attachment point.

Next, with some help from my wife, I transferred the curve of the trunk to the Lexan.  This step was fairly easy after a bit of thought. I taped a pen to a wood block to make a stack just tall enough to reach the Lexan at the edge of the trunk.  While I held the Lexan firmly onto the brackets, My wife slid the block/marker along the trunk lid to transfer the trunk curve unto the Lexan.
Next I cut the curve into the Lexan with the Rotozip Tool.  I then transferred the bottom curve to the top. and made the final cuts.  For support rods, I used adjustable race car body braces made by Five Star Race Car Bodies which are considerably cheaper than the purpose built spoiler rods.  Edge trim on the bottom edge allows take up any small gaps along the trunk lid and a tight seal.  Here it is with the protective film still on the Lexan.

Finally, I removed the whole thing, painted the holes in the sheet metal/Nutserts, and polished the aluminum pieces.  It will stay off until after the cage build.  I need to start planning a front splitter to balance this out.  I have a GV style poly front lip that I'll likely stiffen with some aluminum angle for the short term.

Suspension Planning

I've decided to go with Xida Clubsports from 949 Racing.  I'm starting on 750/450 springs.  We'll see how that works out on the wavy pavement at Packwood and the ever so rough PIR South Paddock.  It might be a bit on the stiff side.  I'll probably order those as soon as my budget allows.

Oh It's Dirty!

So, I installed my trunk pins.  They were a bit more of a pain than the hood pins, but fairly easy.  Plates are riveted in place with rubber gaskets underneath.  I looked at this photo and was horrified by the dirt and grime.

Fortunately I finally had a nice day to wash the gunk off.  We're looking much better, but looks are deceiving.  There's still a lot of grime embedded in the wax I put on last fall.  I'm really glad I put that wax on.  We'll strip and re-wax after all the cutting and welding are complete. It's still going to be a bit rough, but I'm not terribly concerned at the moment.

Parking Brake Lever

My nasty looking parking brake lever needed replacing. After looking at the available options and recovering from sticker shock, I decided to keep it.  I sanded off the finish and sealed the grain.  I primed and pained with 4 coats of high gloss red.  I've got a Cusco drift knob on order to top it off. I'm JDM as F@#!  I tried my beat up leather Nardi shift knob on the extended shifter. I'm not thrilled with it.  I'm not a fan of the Voodoo knobs. I really want to order a red back spider knob, but they're so much $$$.  I've got a Type-R in my 02.  Love it, but also $$$.

Tires and Front Aero

Front lip installed. I may add a small splitter later. I want to see how the balance is first.  Things are still a bit crooked due to my bumper under-bracing still needing work. I'll finish that up after wheel fitment and any required cutting is complete. I'll probably convert the bumper to latch attachment to facilitate easy removal.

I still need to work on those bumper dimples.  They're looking much better after heating and reforming, but still ugly.  As for the white specs from the previous owner, I hope they're less noticeable with the car decal'd out.
I had the almost new Hoosier A6's mounted to my 15x10 6ULs.  I also found out that my local shop has Avon A11 bias plys readily available.  Those will be going on after I use up the A6's.